This invention deals generally with clamping devices and more specifically with an apparatus for clamping a device to a rod-like support.
It is becoming more common to see flags, flower pots and other decorative items displayed on the exterior of buildings, and the means of attaching such items to the buildings are almost as diverse as the buildings themselves. However, most attachment devices depend on one of two conventional systems. They either use a plate or fixture held down by screws driven into a wooden part of the building, such as a window sill or a railing, or they use a variation on the classic xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d clamp.
Neither of these two systems is completely satisfactory. Aside from not being decorative, the xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d clamp devices also include a threaded thumbscrew which usually extends away from the structure and can be a protruding hazard The screw held fixtures raise other problems. Not only do many homeowners and virtually all landlords not want holes drilled into the building, but the process also requires tools and is a more complicated effort than many people want deal with. There is also the additional problem that there may not always be a wood surface available at the location where a decorative item is to be displayed. One such location is a wrought iron railing.
It would be very beneficial to have available an attractive device which easily clamps onto railings and supporting balusters to hold flags, rod supported items, and other decorative items, but does not require tools for installation and does not itself create a hazard.
The present invention is a wonderfully simple structure which can be used to attach decorative items to any rod-like structure. For most residential structures the invention will be attached to balusters which support deck, stair or porch railings, but the invention can be used to attach items to any structure which is dimensioned so that the clamp section of the invention will fit around the structure. For example it can even be used to attach items to small trees.
The invention is formed of two basic sections, a clamp and a holder. The clamp is essentially a split bolt with a head structure. The split bolt has a large through slot between two solid bolt segments that have threads on their outside surfaces. A nut with inside threads which match the threads on the solid segments is screwed onto the split bolt so that the surfaces of the nut and the head structure can be tightened upon and compress anything that fits within the slot. Even an item which is significantly smaller than the width of the slot can be clamped tightly between the head and the nut in the direction of the length of the slot.
The holder structure of the invention is attached to the head of the split bolt and can be constructed in a variety of forms. Typically the holder and the clamp are molded as an integrated unit, and virtually any plastic material can be used. The preferred embodiment of the invention uses injection molded plastic and has a holder structure that is a simple solid body with a hole through it. In anticipation of the use of the invention on a baluster, the through hole for the preferred embodiment is oriented at an angle to the parallel surfaces of the nut, but is in the same plane as the slot in the clamp section. Thus, when the clamp is properly placed on a vertical rod such as a baluster, the through hole in the holder is in a vertical plane, but angled so that the upper opening of the hole is farther from the nut and the baluster than is the lower opening of the hole. Therefore, when a pole for a flag or a plant basket hook is placed within the holder""s hole, the top of the pole extends up and away from the baluster, so that it does not interfere with the railing supported by the baluster. Furthermore, if a pole extends through the bottom of the hole it hits the baluster below the clamp, and the baluster thereby acts as a lower stop for the pole.
Other holders can also be used with the clamp. For example, a two piece holder with mating serrated surfaces and a clamping screw, with one serrated surface attached to the head of the slotted bolt and a pole holding cylinder attached to the other serrated surface, furnishes a flag pole holder with a large range of angular adjustment.
Thus, the clamp of the invention supplies a versatile holder that clamps onto any rod-like structure and can support a variety of items. The invention has the added advantages that it is preferred that it be tightened by hand without tools, it is small and unobtrusive, and, when the nut is formed as a cap nut, it has no protruding hazardous parts.